Editorial: Bailout will help housing market

It may not be the solution anyone wanted, but the $15 billion housing rescue plan working its way through Congress is needed.

It may not be the solution anyone wanted, but the $15 billion housing rescue plan working its way through Congress is needed.

It is a bailout of financial institutions that made questionable mortgage decisions in the name of profit, and homeowners who bit off more than they could chew. But without it, the housing crisis will only grow worse.

And that will only further harm our local and the national economy, which is causing enough pain for everyone.

Abandoned properties can lower property values and destabilize neighborhoods, affecting homeowners not involved in the foreclosure crisis, but affected by it nonetheless. The measure allocates $4 billion in Community Development Block Grant funding to address those issues.

President Bush initially threatened to veto the bill based on that provision. However, earlier this week he withdrew his opposition.

This is good news for areas where foreclosures are on the rise. The rescue plan also hopes to breathe life back into the housing market with tax incentives for new homebuyers.

It is hoped that will provide the spark to the housing market and the economy as a whole. It surely will do more to restore consumer confidence than the stimulus rebate check program enacted earlier this year.

Stabilizing the housing and financial markets is the critical first step in slowing the economic downturn and allowing economic forces to begin the recovery.